Breeze: Short Story Collection
by WindNinja333
Summary: Shorts stories involving my OC Lin (a.k.a Breeze) and the Ninjago ninja! These are spread throughout the seasons, and will not be in chronological order, but I will make notes of when each story is set. Beware of fluff and feels!
1. Making of a Ninja - Part 1

**Hey guys! I have finally finished what will be one of many short stories centering around my main OC, Lin a.k.a Breeze!**

 **So this is the first part of Lin's backstory, set around season 1. I'm having trouble writing the rest of this story arc, so expect several one-shots inbetween this and the next part. Sadly, it's very short, and it won't feature the canon ninja, for Lin doesn't meet them until after Season 2. But you're probably tired of me talking, so let's get to the story!**

I looked out from the door of my house, eyes wide like a little child. Honestly, I felt like one, frightened and alone, not knowing where my parents had gone overnight. Curse my deep sleeping! I am never awake for what goes on in the dark.

A gentle wind blew, and though it was warm outside, it gave me a strange chill. I shivered but remained in the doorway.

I spotted a friend of my parents, Mrs. Warner, coming towards the house. The instant she saw me, she rushed over to my door. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"What's going on?" I asked, stepping outside. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

She smiled sadly. "Oh, Linda... I'm so sorry but... They aren't coming back."

At first I didn't know what she meant, and was simply a little put off by the fact that she called me Linda. I much prefer being called Lin. Then the awful realization came to me. "Y-you-you mean they're- they're-" I couldn't say the word. Everything hit me like wrecking ball to the soul, and I was shattered.

"I'm so sorry, Linda, I'll miss them too." Mrs. Warner hugged me.

Had I been left to stand there alone, the shock would have kept me from tears. But somehow comfort pushes me over the edge, and I softly cried into her shoulder. "What- what happened?"

"Some man- I don't know who he is- invaded the town last night. He had these magical beings helping him... I'm not sure what they were. They hurt a lot of people... Your parents died defending us."

After a few minutes, I pulled away, sniffing and wiping my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. "I don't want to waste any more of your time."

"Oh, you aren't, Linda." She said. "I couldn't just leave you here. Do you want to come home with me?"

"No- at least not yet." I answered. "I can fend for myself."

"As you wish. Oh, I almost forgot. I think your mother would have wanted you to have this." She pulled a necklace from her pocket.

I recognized it immediately: It was my mother's pendant that she always wore. I took it and held it in my hand. It was a big silver heart with wispy carvings and a purple gem in the center. I put it on as I thanked her. Seeing I had regained my composure, Mrs. Warner left, promising that I would be welcome in her home whenever I came.

I watched the kind lady go. I knew I'd end up at her house eventually, but tor now... I wasn't ready. Ready to make myself part of a family that wasn't my own, close as we were. Even though I didn't have my real family anymore, I wanted to be alone until I could accept it.

I went back into my house, looking over the place that was now all mine, I supposed. Not that I wanted it. I spent the rest of the day doing things around the house while trying not to cry. It worked until that night when I had to lock up and turn the lights off myself. I had done this before, but it made me realize I would be doing this every night from now on... I felt tears forming in my eyes.

 _Look at me, getting worked up over the smallest thing..._ I thought. But it didn't stop the sorrow from coming. I ran to my room, throwing myself on my bed, sobbing. I lay there and cried myself to sleep, wondering what life had for me that was worth living for.


	2. A Connection

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading! Shoutouts to Aurro Sister of Morro, NinjagoGeek4EVER, and Masters of Fire and Amber for following!**

 **While the first one was pretty short, this one is over twice its length! It's set between seasons 2 and 3, and is about how Lin meets Zane, and then the other ninja. Pretty fluffy and feely so be prepared!**

I walked the all-too-familiar path through the cemetery towards my parents' grave. A handful of daffodils in my clutch, I stood in front of the stone marking the burial place of my mother and father.

This wasn't in my hometown cemetery. After the... Invasion, there was not quite enough room for all the fallen. Since my parents were not originally from there, they were taken here, their birthplace, to be laid to rest.

I set the yellow perennials on the ground over their bodies. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," I softly said. I tried to visit whenever I could, but I could never seem to manage a regular time, even after I got my own vehicle to make the trip.

I sank to my knees as a wave of sorrow washed over me. Tears came into my eyes but I didn't stop them from falling. I buried my tearstained face in my hands and sobbed. I didn't understand. Over a year had passed and I still cried almost every time I came. why did it hurt so much? It didn't help that they were so strongly connected to that part of my past I really regret, and I still knelt there, lost in my sadness.

I never heard the footsteps approaching or saw the person draw near. I only felt the hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn and see who was there. It was a teenager, appearing to be a year or two older than me, by my own guess. He had blond hair styled in a rather long crew cut, blue-gray eyes, and skin so pale I almost looked dark. I recalled seeing him a few times before, later on in my series of cemetery visits.

I finally remembered to speak. "Ummm, hi."

He cleared his throat while sitting down next to me. "I am sorry to bother you, but you have been crying for over seventeen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. May I ask what is wrong? "

"I... Have?" I asked, surprised at both the amount of time I had apparently spent in tears and the fact that he had... Counted?

I looked at him. We had never spoken before, had only seen each other a few times in our entire lives, yet here he was, trying to help me. He must have read my reaction, for he opened his arms. I gratefully fell into them with another round of tears.

He glanced at the names and dates carved on the headstone. "Are these your parents?"

I nodded into his white shirt. "It's been fourteen months," I sobbed, "Why does it still hurt so much?"

"The loss of someone who is at all important to you creates a permanent change in one's life. I can relate to your situation."

I pulled away from him. "Is that who you're here for too? Your parents?"

"Not exactly... You see, I am actually an android. The grave of man I come to visit is my creator, who passed away a few months ago. It may sound strange, but he treated me like a son, and as I am designed to be as human as possible, I grew very attached to him..."

I was shocked. Had he not just told me, I probably never would have guessed he was a robot. Yet another surprise for today. "So I've lost my parents, you've basically lost your father... It seems we have a connection."

He blinked. "A... Connection?"

"I mean, something in common," I corrected myself. "That probably wasn't the best way of saying it."

" A connection... " he repeated, as if stuck on the phrase.

I checked the time on my phone. "Oh gosh! I need to get back." I stood up to go and so did he, only now he looked a little shy or maybe... Nervous? "What's wrong?"

He looked at me. "I was wondering... Could we meet here again?"

"Sure, why not? I'll try to be back in... Three weeks."

"I will be there. "

"Great! See you later... Oh, heavens, I don't even know your name!"

" I am Zane. "

"Linda, but _please_ call me Lin," I held out my hand for him to shake. He blinked a bit at my insistence on my nickname but he shook my hand just the same. I then left, waving goodbye for as long as he was in sight. I almost smacked into a tree on the way, but I didn't care.

When I came up the path, Zane was waiting for me. I jogged over to him, smiling. "Hey Zane!"

"Greetings, Lin." He smiled in return, but it faded and he looked away from me.

I didn't let it go unnoticed. "Hey, what's wrong? "

He turned back. "It is nothing, just... I-I do not know how to explain it."

"Well I happen to be terrible at explaining just about everything, so go for it."

Zane sank to his knees. "It is just that... I had a minor malfunction in my system earlier this morning, and my friend had to fix it, because my father was not there to... It seems so small, but yet it is bothering me so much. "

"Well the first day after my parents died, I cried over locking up the house without them. It doesn't make sense, but it's always the little things that matter to us most... " I knelt next to him, pulling him into a hug.

I could feel moisture on my shirt as he began to cry into my shoulder. "It appears I have so much to learn still about being human."

I held him for a while, not speaking, just letting him release his emotions. Hadn't he just done the same for me three weeks ago?

Finally he pulled back. "Thank you, Lin."

"Anytime, Zane, " I said. I stood and held out a hand to help him up, which he took. After he was standing, we still held each other's hands until we realized what we were doing. Zane and I let go, turning away and blushing slightly.

"It'sss the Iccce ninja, let'sss get him!" Hissed a strange voice. Three young Fangpyres jumped out of the nearby bushes and tried to tackle Zane.

He knocked them back, but they charged at him again. Without thinking, I grabbed one and punched him in the shoulder, then threw him to the ground, pinning him there.

Zane calmly took care of the other two. "I thought we were all friends now?" He asked them.

"Oh yeah, right, ssorry! Pleassse let usss go, and we won't bother you again? "

He released them. I let the one I had get up as well. As they ran off, Zane turned to me. "You have been trained to fight?"

" A little... " I said, which wasn't entirely false. I could have learned a lot more. But I was also not about to dig into my warrior backstory. "You have Ice powers?"

"Why, yes."

" I have them too, actually... But they're very weak. " I managed to form a little frost in my palm to show him. "This is about the best I can do."

He looked at it. "Perhaps- assuming you do not mind- my friends and I could help with that? "

I gave him an uncertain glance. "I don't know... You won't be the first to have tried. "

He smiled. "The Green Ninja was not even aware of his power when we started training him."

My eyes must have been wide as dinner plates. " _You_ guys trained the Green Ninja?"

"Indeed. Would you perhaps like to meet him? And my other friends?"

"I- I'd love to," I said.

Zane and I got on out bikes and he led me to their base. And that is how I met the ninja and started my training as an Elemental Master. It's also how I came to associate the cemetery there with good memories, rather than bad ones.

 **This story was actually inspired by a one-shot I read on Wattpad. I'll see you guys Wednesday for the next chapter of TLMtD!**


	3. Not Compatible

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading!**

 **I'll admit, I had** ** _way_** **too much fun writing this one! I had to exaggerate some of Garmadon's character traits for this to work, and basically switched Cole and Zane's role in the scene, but I think it was worth it. This is set at the beginning of Rebooted.**

My training as an Elemental Master wasn't going well. Zane had oh, so patiently worked with me on increasing and harnessing my ice powers, but to no avail. The others had even pitched in here and there with no luck. It was still the same little bit of frost.

"Relax, and focus," Zane said, holding my outstretched arm.

I did as he said. I wasn't about to bring up my general inability to focus on anything. But I was trying my best, and I think it was working.

"Now, put all your thought into it," He ordered, "But do not stress or overthink it. "

I obeyed. Yet still all I produced was that frustrating frosty spot on the nearest object - which somehow was Cole's face? When had he gotten there?

The earth ninja sneezed and spluttered, taken by surprise.

I gasped. "I'm sorry, Cole!"

He wiped the melting ice crystals off his face. "It's fine, Lin."

I groaned. "I'm never going to be able to do this."

"Now that is not true," Zane patted my shoulder. "But I believe that is enough for now. Besides, it is getting quite windy out here."

We went inside the base, which was now a building soon to be the Sensei Wu Academy. I didn't understand the deal with this school. I knew that after Lloyd's battle with the Overlord, problems had been few and very far between, but there was no telling how soon trouble would rise again. How can they teach a new generation of future ninja and save Ninjago at the same time? And how willing were young children to be taught in this manner anyway?

As soon as Zane and I entered the living room, Wu came over to us. "Ah, I have been needing to speak with you, Lin."

"What about?" I asked .

"The Academy will be opening in just a few days. The ninja will be busy teaching classes and will not have time to train you."

"So I won't be training anymore?"

"They cannot train you, but I believe it would be best if you continue working with your powers. So I have arranged for you to train at my brother's monastery. "

"But I live here now, Sensei! I can't just leave. "

Zane backed me up. "Must Lin go, Sensei?"

He sighed . "I know you two would like to stay together. But, Lin's powers are in need of much work, weak as they are."

"Well, alright, whatever you say, Sensei. " I left the room.

Two days later, I found myself walking up the path to Garmadon's monastery. I was aware of his conversion back to the good side, but I had never met him before. What would he be like?

I knocked on the big wooden door. It was opened by whom I can only assume was Garmadon himself.

"Lor- I mean, Sensei Garmadon," I started . "I am Lin... da, Master of Ice. I would like to be trained -"

"Zane is the Master of Ice." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

Nervous before but now much more so, I coated my hand in frost.

"I had only planned on taking in younger children to train," he glared. He started to close the door.

"Wait! But Zane- I mean, the ninja sent me! Didn't you get the message from your brother?"

He paused. "No, I did not. Now I would suggest you go, before you make a bigger fool of yourself."

I was about to protest when the mailman came biking up to the door. "Sorry it's late!" He said , handing Garmadon a small scroll, "My bike had to be repaired. It took them forever! "

I smiled sheepishly. "I think that's the note."

He glared at me again, then opened the scroll and silently read its contents. He rolled it back up and turned back to me. "I see you have indeed been sent by them. I apologize for the hostility."

I shrugged. "It's alright. In a way, I don't really blame you."

He let me inside. I smiled and entered, but I could sense he still didn't fully trust me. _Oh, dang, this is going to be one of those days..._

Garmadon led me to a room, and told me to unpack. I went to work emptying my bags, putting my things where I thought they should go. This setup would probably last about two days before it becomes chaos.

I jumped when I dropped a bag and my daggers spilled out. Garmadon came towards me, angry. "Didn't my brother tell you that no weapons are allowed here?"

"Yes, he did, I just forgot, I'm sorry!" I apologized in a rush. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

He reached for the weapons. "Something will have to be done with these."

I grabbed them before he could. "Please, don't! You must understand, they're my mother's."

He looked at me for a while, then sighed. "Fine. But don't let me or anyone else see them again."

"I won't, I'm sorry!" I said.

And so began what had to be one of the most awkward weeks of my life. The dagger incident did nothing to mend our already shaky relationship. I had to be very, very careful with what I said and did, which is very difficult for me when I'm not around someone who is making me nervous.

Training was just as bad. Since I needed to be taught on a different level than the rest of his students, he taught me separately before the usual class. Wu and the ninja never seemed to notice my lack of focus, but Garmadon sure did. I tried to explain that I couldn't help a lot of it, but I could tell he wasn't convinced. Needless to say, my skills didn't advance at all.

To be honest, I felt sorry for him. I'd done nothing but drive the sensei nuts since I first knocked on his monastery door. But at the same time, I usually work a charm over people and they see I don't mean any harm, and Garmadon just wasn't buying it.

One day I was in my room after another unproductive lesson, when I heard commotion in the courtyard. I looked out the window to see the students surrounding four guys and a girl in colorful clothes. I jumped up when I realized: The ninja had come!

I raced out of the bedroom, bursting through the door into the courtyard. "Zane!" I zipped past a grumpy Garm (don't tell him I just called him that) over to the ice ninja, throwing my arms around him. He was surprised at first, but quickly hugged me back.

"I missed you, Lin." He said.

"I missed you even more!"

"But I did not specifically quantify how much I missed you. How do you know it is less than the amount that you miss me?" He gave me a puzzled look.

"No, what I meant was- Agh, I don't know how to explain it! Just forget I said that." I chuckled , releasing him.

"Hey, do we get a hug too?" Kai asked, eyebrow cocked. Jay, Nya, and Lloyd turned to me. Cole was not there, apparently guarding the weapons they had outside the monastery.

I flushed slightly. "Of course," I went over and hugged the rest, listening to their chatter about the current situation at hand. But I found myself drifting back to Zane's side.

"How is your training going?" Zane asked me.

I didn't answer his question, but grabbed onto his arm. "I want to go back with you!" I said .

He looked at me, startled by my passionate response. "I know you want to be with us, Lin, but we are currently on a very dangerous mission..."

"I'll take my chances."

"I will most likely not be able to train you..."

That's okay! My training is still getting nowhere, so I don't think waiting can hurt. I just can't stay here any longer."

"Why?"

"Because... Well, let's just say me and Garmadon don't quite match."

Zane furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What I mean is... We aren't compatible." I grinned in a sheepish manner.

His face returned to normal. "I understand. I will talk to the others, I am sure they will be fine with you joining us." he said, suddenly turning away. Was that a big smile he was trying to hide?

Sensei called us all inside for the lesson. I smiled, knowing it would be the last one for a long time.

 **I think that is the most in-character I have ever written Zane :P See you Sunday for the next chapter of TLMtD, or sooner if I finish another short!**


	4. Wind and Water

**I deeply apologize for not realizing Fanfiction hadn't published my latest chapters! Y'all were probably wondering what happened to me.**

 **Anyway, this is set in the very beginning of Season 8, but it won't really spoil anything if you haven't seen the season.** ** _But I guess I'll leave that up to you..._**

Standing in the muddy, swamp-like ground of the rice field, I tried to blend in, hoping nobody would see I had a purple gi underneath the farming clothes. I knew nothing about rice, so I had to pretend I knew what I was doing. I continued to fiddle with the plants, thankful that Nya was to strike first.

I cringed as I watched a man bully the farmers near him. That was why Nya and I had come here, to stop this tyrant. Somehow, he'd taken control of the farm and was treating the workers like slaves. Arriving and blending hadn't been any trouble, but now we needed some action. I held my breath as Nya walked by, carrying the buckets. It was time.

"Hey you! Bring me some water!" He called to her. She stopped. "I said bring me some water!"

Still she stood there. Then she straightened herself, revealing her face.

"Its the Master of Water!" The man's henchmen cried

"I don't care! Attack!" They obeyed. But as soon as they reached her she struck out with the bucket holder (can't remember its proper name, sorry), knocking them to the ground.

"Thirsty?" She smiled. Two down, one to go. And she was doing it herself! Maybe I hadn't even needed to come along.

But while Nya fought with the leader, I saw the henchmen get up and head towards Nya to back up their master. Quickly I took action. With a brisk wind I blew my straw hat off my head, and Nya's off of hers. Controlling the wind flow, I made the hats circle around the two, hitting them again and again.

Confused, they finally spotted me. "Why don't you come over here and fight like a real ninja?" One said between hat strikes.

"I'd love to," I said, increasing the wind speed to hit them harder, "But it seems I forgot my weapons!"

A large sphere of water came our way and splashed over them, putting them to the ground.

We had just tied them up when a voice came over Nya's communicator. It was Pixal. "Master Lloyd requests your presence back at the temple as soon as possible. He said it is urgent." she said.

"Guess we better go," I checked my last knot to make sure it was secure.

We decided to leave the men for the villagers to deal with. Summoning our elemental dragons, we took off while the people cheered.

Once in flight, Nya said, "that was pretty funny, using our hats and saying you'd forgotten your weapons."

"Well..." I looked down at my belt, and Nya did the same. My daggers were not there, nor were there any shuriken or cunai present. "You see, I really did forget my weapons!"


	5. Moments - Kai

**I felt bad not posting anything for this in a while so have the one I wasn't sure was ready to publish.**

 **This is the beginning of a short series I call Moments. It's basically Lin doing something with each of the ninja (plus Nya and maybe I'll even do Wu) after Zane's death before the Tournament of Elements. These will be posted in order, and since I don't have any better ideas, I'll probably write the rest and post them successively.**

 **As you can hopefully tell from the title, this one is Kai's. These are written in third person from the viewpoint of the ninja because it is meant to focus on them and it would be kind of weird from Lin's POV anyway :P**

"Where's Lin?" Kai heard Wu ask. "The memorial service starts soon."

He looked around, trying not to slip on the ice that Zane had left behind from his fight with the Overlord. It had been a couple days since the battle, but there was so much it had not all melted yet.

Kai found her standing in front of the building the Overlord had stood on top of when Zane jumped onto him, absorbing the golden power into his robotic body. She was looking up right at the spot where the fight had taken place. It was not far from where she had stood on that tragic day.

He thought about Wu having to drag Lin away from the fight to the sewers as he made his way over to her. "Hey, Lin," he said, "We gotta go."

Lin turned to him, silent. Kai could tell that once again she didn't want to leave. She was probably playing the scene in her head over and over... But then again, who among them hadn't?

"I know how you feel-"

"Do you?" She snapped. "Both of us just went through a lot these past few weeks. Maybe he was one of your brothers, but to me - he was all I had. I've never had as close of a friend."

He was surprised at her anger, but he couldn't blame her for feeling it. "Lin, I'm sorry you had to go through this. It's hard for everyone right now."

Her angry tone changed to a sorrowful one. "I know... I'm sorry. I just still don't know what to do.

"When I lost my parents, Zane was there for me. Now he's gone... Who will help me now?" Tears flooded her eyes.

"Us, of course. We're in this together," Kai drew her into his arms.

Lin continued to cry as he walked with her to Zane's memorial. She leaned on him while they sat on the benches, listening to Cyrus Borg's speech. Kai gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulders as he got up to speak. As soon as Kai finished, he returned to Lin, letting her cling to him again.

"Thank you, Kai," she sobbed.

"No problem. Remember, you're not the first little sister I've had. "

The girl smiled through her tears.

They heard a squawk from above and looked up to see Zane's falcon flying over the crowd. It landed on the back of the bench beside Lin.

Kai reached to stroke the bird. "You know, I think Zane would've wanted you to take care of the falcon for him." He told Lin.

Her eyes slowly dried as Lin stretched out her arm and petted it. "Yeah, I think I'll do it. For Zane."

He stood up and she followed. "Come on," he said. "We gotta go."

Lin was clinging to him once more. Only this time, he wanted her to let go. He was beginning to regret telling her goodbye, instead of just leaving.

"Lin, I have to go!" He cried , trying to shake her off of his arm.

"We've already lost Zane, we can't lose you, too!" She pleaded .

"The team is incomplete without him. I want to move on, and find a new place."

"But what about us? Are you just going to leave us to deal with another loss?"

"It's not the same thing!"

"It might as well be!" She rubbed her wet eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry, Lin. But I need to do this." He pulled free of her grasp and made his way out the door.

Lin sank to the floor, hands covering her tearstained face as she wept for another member of the team now gone. Apparently all that hope and comfort he gave her had melted away like the ice over Ninjago City.

 **Well that was angsty whoops. These two end up with a pretty interesting relationship as Lin's story goes on. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	6. Moments - Jay

**Ah, I am back! Here we continue the "Moments" miniseries with a part on Jay. Good news, it's nice, long, and fluffy. Bad news, it still ends unhappily because of course Jay leaves too.**

After Kai left, Lin's withdrawn, depressed state only became worse. She only left her room for meals. And even then, she was mostly silent, only speaking when spoken to. The unhappy, almost haunted look in her eyes were almost painful for the others to look at. They all tried to comfort her, but it just made Lin retreat even further inside of herself. The ninja were waiting for the time she would lash out, though they continued to try and reach out to her.

So it was with some caution that Jay approached her bedroom door. Well, it was actually Lin's and Nya's, but naturally Nya no longer spent much time in there for Lin's sake.

"Liiiiin?" He sang as he opened it, trying to sound cheerful but not obnoxiously so.

She looked up. "What do you need?" Her voice showed no emotion whatsoever, her face cold but civil.

Jay smiled and relaxed slightly. She seemed to be in a slightly better mood than usual. "Will you come play a video game with me?"

She frowned. She had hardly ever played even before Zane's sacrifice. "I don't really want to, thank you."

"Aww, please? Nobody else wants to play. I know you don't play much but I can teach you!"

"I still don't know..."

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

The pleading face Jay put on was too much for even a depressed Lin to resist. "Well, alright... What are we playing?"

The lighting ninja practically dragged her out to the living room, where one of his favorite games was already set up. "Okay, let's get this adventure started!"

Lin smiled a little. It was no wonder everyone simultaneously loved and were annoyed by Jay- his enthusiasm and energy knew no bounds. Plus it was very catching.

She watched as he picked one of four slots available for the game. "This one's already completed, but we can still play through the levels." As the slot loaded he went over the basic controls. As soon as Lin got the hang of them, they started a level.

"Lin, we need to put those in the fire pit!" Jay whined as his character chased after Lin's, who had managed to grab the items they were supposed to use to start a fire and make dinner. Lin was getting quite good at the game, and they were already in the third level.

"Catch me if you can!" She steered her character to evade his, crawling through a secret passage leading to a rocky ledge. While he went to follow her, she jumped off, leaving him far behind.

After several more minutes of chasing and massive amounts of giggles, Lin placed the items where they were needed. They finished the level and played a few more.

"So, are you enjoying this after all?" Jay asked as they finished the first part of the story.

She found herself smiling as she "Yeah, it is! I haven't had this much fun with the games since-" Lin cut herself short, her face falling. _Since Zane and I last played together..._

He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I know it still hurts a lot. It hurts us all. But though it's okay, even good to be sad, it's also good to take time and enjoy the people you still have around you."

The corners of her mouth curled upwards again. "You're right, Jay."

"Now, how about we switch to a racing game?" He grinned as he made the console eject the disc.

"Ooh, you're on!" She beamed.

"I will warn you, I'm a very good driver." He placed the new game in the drive.

Lin only replied with a smirk.

Jay soon found out what she wasn't telling him. While he was indeed good at the game, Lin soon left him and the computer drivers in the dust.

"What!" He cried as she finished several seconds ahead of him again.

Lin laughed. "I can do these races in my sleep."

"We're never playing a racing game again." Jay pouted, making her laugh harder.

Despite his complaint they continued playing well past bedtime. Soon they were so tired Jay could barely drive. Meanwhile Lin, though not in first place, was mostly staying on the track and keeping up with the competition.

"How are you doing this?" Jay yawned.

She yawned as well. "I told you I could drive these in my sleep..." Lin blinked sleepily.

"By the way, thank you for playing... with me." He fought to keep his eyes open.

"No, thank you... I'd forgotten how much fun-" She never finished the sentence.

"Well I hope you're not jealous, Nya." Lloyd chuckled as they came into the game room. Jay and Lin had fallen asleep mid- game on the couch, with the latter resting her head on the former's shoulder.

"Aw, no. They're too cute to make me jealous."

"Maybe we should have told them it was bedtime. I wasn't expecting them to play so long."

"Are you kidding, Lloyd?" Cole came up from behind them. "They were having way too much fun to make them stop. Just look at how happy they are now."

It was true. Both the sleeping gamers had content smiles on their faces. But just at that moment, they woke up, and spotting the others watching them, their peaceful expressions changed to ones of embarrassment. They laughed nervously and got up.

But even as they wished the others wouldn't tease them about it, they knew they never wanted to forget it. Some moments, even those with embarrassing elements, deserved to be remembered forever.

"Jay! Not you too!" Lin cried after catching him in the act of leaving .

"Lin, the team's done. I have no purpose here. I've found something I can do elsewhere. If all I am is funny, I might as well make others laugh."

"But you're more than that! Besides, what about Nya?"

He paused, but opened the door. "It's no use, I've got nothing on Cole. She'd pick him in the end anyway."

"No!" Lin ran over to him, tears in her eyes. "Jay, please stay!"

But he had already gone out. He hated to close the door in her face, but he had to get away. His new life was calling him, though it worked hard to drown out the cries of the sad, lonely girl on the other side of the door.

 **The first game they played is based off of Wii Lego LotR and me and my brother's shenanigans on it. Even playing it the first time, I still ran off with at least most of the items we needed to advance. It became a running joke. Ah, the memories.**

 **Anyway, sorry if you saw the glitched chapter, thanks to NinjagoGeek4EVER for pointing it out! Next is Cole's!**


	7. Moments - Cole

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading! This next installment of the Moments miniseries is the first one I came up with. It was inspired by DietCokeIsLife's short story "Four Times Cole Helped the Guys With a Nightmare." Because, well, that's basically what he's doing here.**

Lin sat bolt upright in her bed, just barely holding back the scream in her throat. She gasped, breathing deeply, trying to calm herself, clear her mind of the frightening images it had conjured up subconsciously.

But it was no use. Her mind was racing, and she was wide awake. It would be a while before Lin would be able to sleep again.

She knew the best thing to do was to talk with someone about it. That's what they always did in books and shows, didn't they? But Lin checked the time on her phone: 1:13 am. Yeah, no way anyone was awake right now. And no way she was going to disturb someone with her nightmare.

Lin found herself heading out of the bedroom, quietly so as there was no chance she'd wake Nya. She made her way into the living room, and sat on the couch, trying to relax and free her mind of the unwanted dream.

She hadn't turned any lights on, so seeing one switch on in the hall caused her to jump. She watched wide-eyed as a figure walked through the hallway and into the kitchen. It was with great relief she discovered it to only be Cole.

Cole had just grabbed a slice of cake from the fridge when he heard a small sound coming from another room. He poked his head out of the doorway and looked into the living room to see Lin sitting on the couch, huddled under a blanket.

He frowned. He'd never seen Lin up at this hour - as far as everyone knew, including Lin herself, she always slept through the night. Concerned, he approached. "Hey, you okay?"

Lin didn't reply, simply shifting under the blanket.

He sat down next to her. "What happened?"

"Nightmare," she mumbled.

"Oh," he looked at her. While Lin definitely looked a bit spooked and would have trouble getting back to sleep for a while, she seemed fine. He patted her shoulder and started to stand. "Well, I won't bother you then-"

That was when he noticed her breathing. It was short, rapid, not too deep-

It hit Cole like the swinging post on the old training course. Panic attack. She's starting to have a panic attack...

He thought quickly. She'd only ever done this once before that he knew of, but he remembered hearing something about either air blowing on her face or music would usually calm her...

He jumped up, running to her room. He crept in and found her MP3 player laying where he often had seen it (on her dresser), then ran back to Lin, plugging the earbuds into her ears. She was too surprised to resist as he pressed play.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the music.

 _I want to live my life,_

 _The choice is mine, I've made up my mind,_

 _Now I'm free to start again._

 _I want to live, (to live,)_

 _And breathe, (And breathe_

 _The way I want that's right for me.)_

 _I may not know nothing else,_

 _But I know that..._

 _I want to live!_

Slowly Lin relaxed and her breathing became normal. Then she turned to Cole and hugged him, a couple tears slipping down her cheeks.

He wrapped his big, strong arms around her. "Do you want to tell me what it was about?"

She nodded, still clinging to him. "It was about Zane's sacrifice, only after he was gone, the Overlord wasn't defeated. So Ninjago City was destroyed... And so was everyone else."

He didn't reply, just continuing to hold the frightened girl. After a few minutes, he spoke to change the subject: "So what are you listening to right now?"

She pulled away, blinking, not knowing what he was talking about at first. Then she realized and replied, "Skillet, currently."

"Ah, nice," He replied. They discussed music for a while, until Lin had all but forgotten the dream. It turned out window two had several favorite bands in common, and each had a couple artists for the other to try out, when they had the chance.

They were so deep in the conversation Lin did not realize how sleepy she was getting. Before she knew what was happening, she was nearly asleep and felt someone lifting and carrying her. She became slightly embarrassed when she realized that Cole must be taking her to bed.

The black ninja opened the door to the girls' bedroom, softly so as not to wake its inhabitants. He placed Lin on her bed with a whispered goodnight.

As he pulled away, Lin reached up to hug his neck. "Thank you," she said. She fell back and was instantly asleep.

Cole smiled, slipping out of the room. Talking with Lin had almost made him forget about the cake he had sitting on the kitchen counter.

 _Almost_ forget. This is Cole after all.

"Morning, everyone," Lin said as she came to the breakfast table a few days later. She looked around and realized someone was missing. "Where's Cole?"

Lloyd sighed. "He... He seems to have left. I guess he did it last night while everyone else was in bed."

Lin's smile dropped, and she sank into her chair. Burying her face in her hands, she neither cried nor spoke.

"Hey, Lin, what's wrong?" Nya came to her side.

She didn't respond, and her breathing became rapid and shallow. The others grew more concerned, trying to get her to say something, but she only got up and ran to her room, collapsing on her bed, waiting for the panic attack to pass.

 **I'm sorry if it's not written well. To be honest I'm not too familiar with panic attacks, I have such a short attention span, I can basically distract myself from it when I get them. So this is based on a tiny bit of personal experience.**

 **And the song Lin is listening to is "I Want to Live" by Skillet. I don't know why I chose that song, but I did.**


	8. Moments - Nya

**Well, this one was harder than I thought. So it turned out a bit short. But hey, it's an update right?**

 **Oh, and if you've just eaten or are about to, you may want to wait before you read this. Just a friendly warning.**

Lin groaned as the contents of her stomach came back up her throat and out of her mouth into the toilet she was kneeling in front of. A terrible feeling came from within as she puked again.

Finally it stopped and Lin took a deep breath, closing her eyes with a slight moan. It was somewhere around 4 a.m. and she was exhausted. Before she could do anything else Lin felt hands pulling her hair back from her face, then one resting on her shoulder.

"You okay, Lin?" It was Nya.

"Y-yeah. I- oh, Nya, I gotta -" she leaned back over the bowl for a final round. Nya grabbed Lin's hair again just in time to save it from being soiled.

The sick girl leaned back against her friend. "Thanks."

"No problem," Nya replied, placing an arm around Lin's shoulders.

"Why are you even awake right now?"

"You made quite a bit of noise getting out of bed and in here. I figured I should check up on you."

"I guess my eating habits finally caught up to me," Lin pulled away from Nya, not sure whether she should act like it was a joke or not.

After Cole's disappearance, Lin would barely eat anything at most meals. After a while she would realize how hungry she was and eat as much as one of the boys. Last night's dinner had been one of those cases.

"Yeah... We've been wanting to talk to you about that."

"Nya, I know it's not healthy! But I'm not hungry most of the time. I simply can't get myself to eat."

Tears started welling in Lin's eyes. "It's bad enough that Zane is gone forever... Why did the others have to leave?"

"They didn't have to leave. Cole, Jay and Kai are confused. They lost a brother and don't know what to do with themselves. Believe me, I understand feeling lost... That's why I became Samurai X.

"But we shouldn't give up on them, or ourselves. Zane may have died, but because of him, Ninjago lives on. We should carry on and give our best for it. Zane would want us to."

Nya hugged the crying girl, then wiped away her tears. She stood up and pulled Lin to her feet. "Come on, we're going to get ready."

"Ready for what?"

"For our early morning shopping trip, of course."

"R-right now? It's only like 4:30!"

"Of course not right now! We need to make sure your stomach settles, eat breakfast, and get dressed and ready first. By then it won't be too early."

"I... Thought you didn't like girly things."

"Normally, not really. But I'm okay with shopping. And besides, somebody needs to get out of the house for some girl time, so I'm willing to make the sacrifice."

Lin smiled. How did she ever get through life without friends like these?

 **Haha, sorry if you lost your appetite. I hope to update again soon! Love you all!**


	9. Moments - Lloyd

**Hey guys! I know it has been far too long since I've posted. I was forced to go on a two-month hiatus from both the Internet and my writing. And when I finally got back, I had so much trouble finishing the story I was writing. But thanks to getting stuck at Cosmetology school for nearly two hours, I finished the fifth and final installment of Breeze: Moments.**

 **So where is Breeze headed after this? I'm planning to work on Lin's backstory until it's done, then jump forward to Rebooted. There may be some other ones mixed in, but I'm going to try to do them in chronological order for the most part from now on.**

 **Well, I'm glad to see y'all again, and here's the story at last.**

"Hey, Lloyd?" A voice asked.

The ninja in question turned to see Lin standing there. He was surprised, but could tell by her face this wasn't some random conversation she was trying to start. "What do you need?"

"Well... I wanted to go back to my home town and get some things of my parents'... I didn't want to go alone, so I was wondering if you could come with me?"

"Oh, sure," Lloyd replied, now even more surprised. Lin had never talked about her home, let alone her deceased parents. "Though you're going to have to give me directions, I don't know where you used to live."

"I know the way. You can just follow me."

"Yeah, sure. You want to go now?"

"If you are willing..." Lin hated to impose on people and asking favors was not her strong suit.

"It's no problem, Lin. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Less than 15 minutes later, they were on their bikes and headed towards Lin's hometown. Near the edge of it, Lin stopped at a small house.

"Is this your house?" Lloyd asked as he pulled up behind her.

"Yeah, or at least it was... The city council still can't decide what to do about it. They've spent an eternity trying to take care of all the houses of people who died during the invasion. Friends of mine have been handling any issues concerning it for me."

"Wow..." Lloyd dismounted from his motorcycle. "Do you need help, or would you rather I wait out here?"

"I'd prefer to go in alone. It's not like I'm getting anything heavy." Lin opened a compartment on her bike, then walked up to the door and entered the house by herself.

She came back out with an armload of belongings wrapped in a blue tarp. Lin placed it all in her bike's storage space and shut the lid, turning to Lloyd. "Hey... Would it be alright if we went further into town? I haven't seen it in a while."

"Sure, I've got plenty of time." He smiled, hoping it would put the girl at ease.

She gave a slight, one-sided smile in response. They mounted and rode down the street leading to the town's center.

They parked at a shop and walked around the downtown area, Lin quietly pointing out all the highlights. They stopped in front of a two-story building, with a sign outside reading "Oleson Farming Equipment".

"What's this place?" Asked Lloyd, more for the meaning of stopping there than the actual identity of the building.

"Its..." Lin struggled to answer without sounding overly emotional.

"Her dad used to work there," said a strange voice. The two turned to see a pair of girls standing behind them.

The other girl spoke. "Funny, Lin, I thought you'd finally gotten smart and stayed away for good. But you never could remember anything important, could you?" The girls sneered as they laughed.

"I only came back to get some things..." Lin looked down and mumbled.

They laughed harder. "Well that sure sounds like you. Can't even remember what all to take with you!" The first girl cackled.

Lin still held her head down, but it wasn't hard to tell she was trying to hold back tears.

"Now, that's enough! This clearly isn't some harmless joke." Lloyd cut into the conversation. "What has Lin ever done to you guys? I may not know much about her, but I know she wouldn't have caused anything to deserve this treatment from anyone! Come on, Lin, let's go." He took her by the arm and led her back the way they came.

"Well, that was totally uncalled for- huh?" The green ninja was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around him.

Lin hugged Lloyd tightly. "That's the first time anyone has ever stood up for me like that!"

He was surprised, but returned the embrace. "There's no need to thank me, Lin. Nobody should have to face that alone."

She looked up at him, thankfulness shining like a beacon in her brown eyes. Lin didn't have to say a word to convey the message.

Lloyd smiled again. Even with all the things he had done as the green ninja, nothing seemed to feel quite as good as this.


	10. Making of a Ninja - Part 2

**Hey guys! It's been a while, hasn't it? But I brought you the second part of Lin's backstory! And for once you'll actually get to see Lin happy without someone creating a fuffy scene XD** **Of course it'll all be wrecked in Part 3 but I never said that**

I spent the next day alone at my house, lost in my own confusion. Nothing seemed real. My brain had seemed to grasp the whole situation the day before, but now it couldn't make sense out of anything that had happened. Had we really been attacked? Had my parents actually died? Was I truly left on my own? Could there be another explanation for all this?

Deep down, I knew what happened, and knew it was true, but the rest of me was in shock and couldn't process a thing. I had never been in such a state before.

I don't know how long I might have stayed in this mental chaos had there not been a knock on my door early the next morning. I opened it to find Michael, the Warner's oldest son. He was about six months younger than me, and I suppose you could consider him a friend of mine. I don't really know, I'm socially awkward and our relationship confused me in a way.

"Hey, Lin," He started.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We're having a memorial service for... Well, you know, everyone. But we've got to get it done soon before anyone tries to stop us."

"Okay, just give me a second." I threw my long, frizzy hair into a ponytail and grabbed my house keys.

We headed out, walking side by side through the chilly air and quiet streets. Glancing at him as we trudged along, I pondered out awkward relationship. In the time our families spent together, Micheal always seemed eager to be with me and have my attention, but at the same time acted shy around me.

I didn't see why he felt the need to be like that. I was far from popular among our peers, and certainly I wasn't anyone people had to be careful around. Sure, I was sensitive, but I always went out of my way to avoid causing trouble.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him watching me. Whenever I looked at him, he shifted his gaze away. _Weird. What's up with him today?_

We arrived at the town square, where everyone was gathered. And what scared me was that "everyone" was only a fraction of the people that were supposed to make up the town's population.

"Is this... All who's left?" I asked in disbelief.

Micheal nodded. "Luckily we were all asleep and they passed over our house..."

"I'm glad you're all safe," I mumbled. Judging from the crowd, they were one of only a few who escaped unscathed.

The service was nice, and the other people there gave me lots of hugs and sympathy, but I felt completely empty. I had lost everything... Nothing mattered to me anymore. I felt bad that I couldn't receive the kindness of the townspeople. Yet at the same time, I felt bad that they were giving it to me in the first place... For they, too, had lost so much.

It was a mess for me. By the end of the mass funeral I was crying just as much because I was so confused about everything as I was about losing my parents.

I was ready to run away and get back home when Mr. Warner approached me. "I found some other things of your parents' that I thought you might like to keep."

I took the oddly shaped bundle from his hands. Thanking him, I headed back home as fast as I could.

I slowed as I came close to the house. Clutching the mysterious package Mr. Warner had given me, I wondered what it contained. It was small, hard, and rather heavy. As I headed through the gate and across the yard I felt another gentle wind. It started out feeling warm, then cold. _How strange._

I went inside and set the bundle on the table to unwrap it. In it was my father's watch, a pair of earrings my mother wore, and two matching daggers.

Though I appreciated the thought, the watch and the earrings really weren't worth anything. I knew he had taken them just in case. But the daggers... I had never seen those before, and I was intrigued by them.

I studied them with much interest. The silver metal of the blades gleamed in the dim lights of the house. I hadn't turned most of them on yet. The handles were wooden, smooth and stained dark purple. The part between the blade and the handle was shaped in a sideways "S". They were simple, but in my eyes, beautiful.

Looking at them gave me a thought: My mother had used these to fight evil. Couldn't I use them to do the same? The threat was still out there. I had something to live for, something to fight for... Everything was clear again.

I was surprised when I felt another breeze, considering I was inside the house and all the windows were closed. It must have been one of those weird drafts. But it felt just like the last one: Warm, and then cold.

The day was drawing to a close, and I readied myself for bed. It was much easier to sleep that night, and the next day looked as bright as the daggers sitting on the kitchen table.


	11. Boy's Shorts

**No, I'm not being super productive or have a bunch of time on my hands. Well actually I do have quite a bit, but that's not why you're getting two updates in a row. The stories I posted were ones I had already started, and I finished them while roleplaying with a friend (I do Ninjago Roleplay fight me).**

 **This particular one is set after "A Connection" and before "Not Compatible". It's kind of a mess but hey random headcanons about the ninja plus a little something about Lin woo.**

As the timer on the dryer beeped, Nya opened the door and began pulling out the clothes. Kai's shirt, Jay's socks, Cole's pants... And a pair of boy's jean shorts.

Nya narrowed her eyes at the unfamiliar article of clothing. Now, the boys owned plenty of shorts, jeans or otherwise, but these were... Small. Not tiny like a little boy's, but they looked smaller than anything they could wear.

Unable to rest until her curiosity was satisfied, Nya brought the shorts to the smallest of the guys: Jay.

"Hey, are these yours? I found them in the laundry."

But the Master of Lightning shook his head. "No, they're too small even for me. Maybe they were Lloyd's from when he was a kid."

"I doubt it, he wasn't that big yet before the Tommorow's Tea. But I'll ask him anyway."

Nya found Lloyd in the game room, playing Fist to Face with Kai. "Lloyd? Are these yours?"

The Green Ninja turned from the game to answer her. "Hmm... Nope."

"Even from when you were a kid?"

"I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything in that size."

"Haha, got you!" Kai cried as he delivered a critical hit to Lloyd's now idle character.

"Hey! You knew I wasn't looking!"

"That's exactly why I did it!"

Soon the brothers were tangled in a fight on the couch, controllers and punches and kicks flying everywhere. The commotion caught the attention of Jay, Cole, and Zane, drawing them into the room as well. They had just started placing bets on the winner when Kai and Lloyd tumbled off the couch and onto the floor, laughing hysterically.

They picked themselves up, still laughing and making the others laugh too.

"Now, what did you come in here for again, sis?" said Kai.

Nya showed him the shorts. They all studied it, scratching their heads over the mysterious piece of clothing. Wild theories started to rise when they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Um, pardon me for asking, but, why are you guys so interested in my shorts?"

They all turned to the speaker. Lin was giving them a confused and slightly embarrassed look.

Six pairs of eyes widened in surprise. "These are yours?!" Jay cried.

"Um, yeah..." The brunette chuckled sheepishly, coming closer so she could take what belonged to her.

"But they're boy's shorts! Why do you wear them?" Nya asked. Lin may not have been the girliest of girls, but she was still far from a tomboy.

Lin cracked an awkward smile and mumbled, "Because... Well, girl's shorts are kind of... Too short."

Nya stifled a giggle. "Well, Lin, I didn't realize you were so modest..." She exchanged glances with the ninja. They shouldn't laugh, it was insensitive and Lin was already flustered from the sudden attention...

In spite of themselves, laughter filled the room.

Only Zane gave Lin a sympathetic look as the rest howled over the whole thing. He was confused by the laughter and Lin's growing embarrassment, but he decided the best course of action was to support his friend.

Eventually Lin got her shorts back from Nya, the group stopped laughing and went back to their normal hilarious shenanigans, and a long time afterwards Lin finally dared to wear the shorts again. If the ninja remembered the joke, they refrained from making it in front if her.

Sometimes, it was a wonder Lin ever survived living with them.


	12. Making of a Ninja - Part 3

**Gyah, this took forever to finish! I'm so sorry for the delay, inspiration is at a low. I'm not really satisfied with how this is going, but my goal is to get Lin's story told. Also, I apologize for any quieks, I've switched to a smartphone and I'm not used to it yet.**

My spirits were higher the next day than they had been in as long as I could remember. I sang as I got ready to start my day, feeling unstoppable and powerful as I went out the door-

The final chorus of "Going Home" was tragically cut short when I happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Why we even had one hanging in the living room, I didn't know. Maybe it was for reality checks like the one I had at that moment. Was I really going to save the village in a purple shirt and jeans?

Whoops. I had better fix that... I decided. But how could I look the part of a hero? Colorful, goofy superhero suits were what first came to mind. I laughed. There was no way I could pull that off; I didn't have any superpowers.

I thought about the ninja from days past that I liked to read about, real and fictional: Skilled, stealthy warriors, they were trained and fought to defend their homes and other places. Some even had special "elemental" abilities. I recalled one story where one with light powers and another with shadow powers saved their village from a vengeful sorcerer...

 _Ninja_. It just sounded right. That's what I would become to save my home. Naturally, I didn't have a gi laying around. But I wasn't too bad with a needle and thread, and certainly there were instructions for how to make a costume gi online.

Several hours, a bunch of cool purple and silver fabric, some confusing diagrams and a few very helpful tutorial videos later, I had a simple gi, complete with a belt and mask. Grabbing a pair of soft gray shoes I never thought I'd be able to use, I had a complete outfit.

I put the gi on and faced the living room mirror (that makes it sound even weirder), and couldn't help but smirk. "Well, since you were so kind as to point out my poor fashion choices, what do you think now?" I made a quick movement with one hand in a gesture to punctuate the question- and was shocked to see a small blast of frost come from my hand and land on the mirror.

"What the-" I covered my mouth before I said something I'd regret. Maybe I could've done the superhero suit. I tried to do it again, and after a little bit I managed to. It wasn't anywhere near enough to be useful for fighting or anything, but maybe I could get it to be stronger.

Still, my mind raced with questions. Where did these powers come from? How long have I had them? How come I'm just now discovering them?

I don't know how, but my eyes drifted down to the pendant resting on my chest, and I _knew_. I knew it had something to do with my powers. I took it off and sure enough, my abilities vanished. Did... My mom know about this? She was about my age when she got the pendant...

After recovering from the initial shock, I realized how late in the day it had gotten, and how tired I was. I would have to wait until tomorrow to confront evil.

The next morning, I was in fine form. In no time I was dressed in my new gi, had everything ready to go, and was out the door. The only thing I'd forgotten at first was my belt. But I consider that a victory compared to my normal forgetful blunders.

Fully suited (including the elusive belt) and armed, I headed out to find... Whoever had started this madness. I had often snuck around town to avoid being seen by certain people (and some days when I was feeling especially self-conscious, people in general), so avoiding magically summoned beasts patrolling the town wasn't too difficult.

I figured wherever they were, it would be guarded. There were several large buildings around town, most of them in decent shape, some of them empty and unused. I started with the one closest to my house and went from there.

It was difficult to contain my excitement and anxiety. Nobody would believe that the quiet, timid little Linda Anderson took on the evil lord and saved the town. Goodness, _I_ could hardly believe I was doing this.

Not that anyone had any chance of seeing it right now. I was the only human out and about. I guessed everyone else was too afraid to leave their homes. Only black beasts, like shadows but solid, strolled through the streets uninhibited. I merely kept out of their sight, it was easier than fighting them even if it would help me to liberate my home.

The first building was unguarded and undisturbed. No evil magic lord there. The second had more activity around it, but proved to be like the first. The third time really was the charm and I barely managed to slip inside without incident, and came face to face with the enemy.

"Who are you?" He demanded with a growl.

"A citizen of this village, and we want it back!" I snapped, angrier than I'd been in a long time.

He scowled. "Do you really think I'd give it up after all the trouble I went through to take it? I don't plan on leaving anytime soon, and I'm certainly not going to listen to the demands of some dressed-up idiot like you. Can you even use those daggers in your belt?"

I was taken aback. He'd seen right through me? I composed myself as a last hope of convincing him. "What does it matter? You want to try and find out?"

"I do, actually." He replied , drawing a sword.

Oh, no. He'd said the one thing I hadn't wanted him to say. Now he really was going to find out. I couldn't intimidate him, and I wasn't about to take him on when I hadn't ever taken a fighting class in my life.

I did the only thing I felt I could do: I ran straight out of that place and back home. I could hear him laughing his head off as I left. "I am Soulis, a master of the dark arts. I am not someone to play games with."

Soon I had several of the magical beasts chasing me, but I had desperation on my side, and outran them and made it to the house unscathed.

Locking the door behind me, I fled to my room and threw myself on the bed. What on earth was I thinking!? I can't stand up for everyone and fight the evil magician to save us. Ugh, why is Ninjago's law enforcement so horrible? Then I wouldn't feel the need to take matters into my own hands. Look where it got me. How could I have been so stupid?

Overwhelming anger and fear were replaced with deep sorrow and shame as I sobbed, letting tears flow freely. Nobody could see me here. But that also meant no one would come to help me and comfort me...

"Mom... Dad... Come back... I miss you... I want you back." I moaned between sobs.

But as I was ready to give up, a strangely warm breeze blew over me, soothing like a hug, until I was calm enough to fall asleep. I thought it odd, since the window was closed, but was too exhausted mentally to question it further as my eyelids grew heavy and I was lost to dreamland.


End file.
